Where is our money?

By Abdu Labaran Malumfashi

A couple of years ago, ‘Follow the money’ became a popular slogan among the elite of the ruling Republicans and the opposition Democrats during the waning months of the Nixon’s Presidency.

At that time, the scandal of wire tapping the opposition by experts was ordered by President Nixon (now late) with a view to hearing the conversation of the opposition leaders so as to use it against them in his second term reelection poll.

The scandal led to his impeachment in the American House of Representatives and his eventual resignation before the Senate Judiciary committee could pass a vote confirming the impeachment.

But in Nigeria, it is a question of where has all our money gone to, with almost nothing to show for the huge amount allocated to the states and ministries by the federal government.

A gleam of the answer is provided by the recent return of $780,000 by the American University in Abuja, Nigeria to the anti graft commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for return to the coppers of Kogi State Government from where the money was removed by the former Governor, Yahaya Bello for the up front payment of his children’s school fees.

Then Governor Yahaya Bello had paid the sum of $845,000 as the total advance payment of all his children’s school fees to the school. That is a humongous amount when converted to the local currency, the Naira.

This amounts to a shear wickedness from a state that has not paid its teachers and pensioners for months, yet the governor can pay nearly $1 million to make advance payment for the school fees of his children.

Another answer is the blind rush to become a member of the Nigerian Senate so as to avoid the invitation of the anti graft agencies, which includes the Independent Crime Prohibition Commission (ICPC), to explain the whereabouts of a certain sum of money in their previous calling as governors or ministers.

In this country called Nigeria, it is not always service to the people, but to self, that occupies the time of most of the leaders while they were in office.

For instance, a contract worth a stupendous amount of money will be awarded in Nigeria for a certain job, the same job that will only cost a fraction of the amount to execute in other African countries.

The excess amount will go to the account of the boss, of course, in a country where some sixty four (64) years after independence, some basic amenities like water and electricity, have continued to elude majority of the population.

Most of Nigeria has become a land of ‘generators’ and ‘boreholes’ to serve the power and water needs of the people in the country. These are supplied by the owners of the houses, not by the government.

In Nigeria, the grid is always ‘collapsing’ in hot weather, and during the rainy season. The question begging for answer is: Don’t they have grids in other countries, and why are they not ‘collapsing’ often, as they do here?

China, India, US and Brazil are some of the countries more populated than Nigeria, yet the leadership over time are able to provide all their big cities with water and electricity at all times without fail. They will also notify the people if and when they are going to effect a repair so that the affected people can prepare for it.

Since service is not to the people, but to some of the serving governors and ministers, a lot of money will be made from the ‘collapse’ of the national grid by the bosses on top.

And the top people seem insatiable with money, causing them to accumulate it well beyond their needs and those of their family. Those who are ‘clumsy’ in their dealings, are always caught up immediately by the anti corruption agencies.

And the anti graft agencies are most of the time hamstrung by the courts or the National Assembly. Many of the offenders rush to the courts to obtain a restraining order or to the National Assembly, for a ‘hiding’ place, not a work place, for them.

Many of them are there as ‘elected’ fellows, while in real sense they found themselves there by hook or by crook.

Graft or by whatever name it is called, has been the fate of the country since its return to democracy. May God (SWT) save our dear country, Nigeria.

Malam Malumfashi wrote from Abuja